Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014)

Anastasia Dimitriou; Dimitris Pimenidis

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014)

Anastasia Dimitriou, Dimitris Pimenidis

Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 2)

Received: 5 February 2015 Accepted: 24 February 2015 Published: 4 March 2015

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Abstract

To create effective climate change mitigation energy policies that contribute to greenhouse gases reduction are required. To this direction, local authorities play a crucial role as they are responsible for the planning and implementation of energy policies in their territories. This study aims to investigate the local authorities’ knowledge and attitudes on energy production, energy management, energy consumption and renewable energy sources (RES), as well as their energy practices and their intentions. The study was carried out in the island of Rhodes, Greece where 12 elective representatives of local authorities (municipalities and prefecture) were asked to fill in a questionnaire on the above issues. Almost all of the participants recognized energy saving as an important dimension of energy policy. They indicated their intentions for energy saving applications in the future, but the measures they use to apply in their area of responsibility are extremely limited. Despite respondents’ positive attitudes towards the use of RES, they seem to hesitate to develop an energy model based mainly on RES, as they believe they cannot cover the energy needs of the island. They also, believe that they play a secondary role in the planning and development of energy policy at a local level, as they estimate that energy policy is mainly a matter of the central government. Findings show that there is a demand for a more specialized and focused energy policy. They further show the need for specialized environmental education programs addressed to local authorities aiming at increasing motivation as well as supporting their efforts for the implementation of sustainable energy policies.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
Page(s)	20-30
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Local Authorities, Mayors, Attitudes, Views, Energy Policy, Sustainability

References

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Anastasia Dimitriou, Dimitris Pimenidis. (2015). Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014). International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 3(2), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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ACS Style

Anastasia Dimitriou; Dimitris Pimenidis. Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014). Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2015, 3(2), 20-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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AMA Style

Anastasia Dimitriou, Dimitris Pimenidis. Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014). Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2015;3(2):20-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11,
  author = {Anastasia Dimitriou and Dimitris Pimenidis},
  title = {Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014)},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20150302.11},
  abstract = {To create effective climate change mitigation energy policies that contribute to greenhouse gases reduction are required. To this direction, local authorities play a crucial role as they are responsible for the planning and implementation of energy policies in their territories. This study aims to investigate the local authorities’ knowledge and attitudes on energy production, energy management, energy consumption and renewable energy sources (RES), as well as their energy practices and their intentions. The study was carried out in the island of Rhodes, Greece where 12 elective representatives of local authorities (municipalities and prefecture) were asked to fill in a questionnaire on the above issues. Almost all of the participants recognized energy saving as an important dimension of energy policy. They indicated their intentions for energy saving applications in the future, but the measures they use to apply in their area of responsibility are extremely limited. Despite respondents’ positive attitudes towards the use of RES, they seem to hesitate to develop an energy model based mainly on RES, as they believe they cannot cover the energy needs of the island. They also, believe that they play a secondary role in the planning and development of energy policy at a local level, as they estimate that energy policy is mainly a matter of the central government. Findings show that there is a demand for a more specialized and focused energy policy. They further show the need for specialized environmental education programs addressed to local authorities aiming at increasing motivation as well as supporting their efforts for the implementation of sustainable energy policies.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014)
AU  - Anastasia Dimitriou
AU  - Dimitris Pimenidis
Y1  - 2015/03/04
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP  - 20
EP  - 30
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7536
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
AB  - To create effective climate change mitigation energy policies that contribute to greenhouse gases reduction are required. To this direction, local authorities play a crucial role as they are responsible for the planning and implementation of energy policies in their territories. This study aims to investigate the local authorities’ knowledge and attitudes on energy production, energy management, energy consumption and renewable energy sources (RES), as well as their energy practices and their intentions. The study was carried out in the island of Rhodes, Greece where 12 elective representatives of local authorities (municipalities and prefecture) were asked to fill in a questionnaire on the above issues. Almost all of the participants recognized energy saving as an important dimension of energy policy. They indicated their intentions for energy saving applications in the future, but the measures they use to apply in their area of responsibility are extremely limited. Despite respondents’ positive attitudes towards the use of RES, they seem to hesitate to develop an energy model based mainly on RES, as they believe they cannot cover the energy needs of the island. They also, believe that they play a secondary role in the planning and development of energy policy at a local level, as they estimate that energy policy is mainly a matter of the central government. Findings show that there is a demand for a more specialized and focused energy policy. They further show the need for specialized environmental education programs addressed to local authorities aiming at increasing motivation as well as supporting their efforts for the implementation of sustainable energy policies.
VL  - 3
IS  - 2
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Author Information

Anastasia Dimitriou

Department of Education Sciences in Early Childhood, School of Education Sciences, Laboratory of Research and Communication for the Environment and Environmental Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
Dimitris Pimenidis

Department of Pre-school education and Design, School of Humanities, Msc Environmental Education, University of Aegean, Rhodes, Greece

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APA Style

Anastasia Dimitriou, Dimitris Pimenidis. (2015). Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014). International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 3(2), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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ACS Style

Anastasia Dimitriou; Dimitris Pimenidis. Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014). Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2015, 3(2), 20-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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AMA Style

Anastasia Dimitriou, Dimitris Pimenidis. Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014). Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2015;3(2):20-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11,
  author = {Anastasia Dimitriou and Dimitris Pimenidis},
  title = {Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014)},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20150302.11},
  abstract = {To create effective climate change mitigation energy policies that contribute to greenhouse gases reduction are required. To this direction, local authorities play a crucial role as they are responsible for the planning and implementation of energy policies in their territories. This study aims to investigate the local authorities’ knowledge and attitudes on energy production, energy management, energy consumption and renewable energy sources (RES), as well as their energy practices and their intentions. The study was carried out in the island of Rhodes, Greece where 12 elective representatives of local authorities (municipalities and prefecture) were asked to fill in a questionnaire on the above issues. Almost all of the participants recognized energy saving as an important dimension of energy policy. They indicated their intentions for energy saving applications in the future, but the measures they use to apply in their area of responsibility are extremely limited. Despite respondents’ positive attitudes towards the use of RES, they seem to hesitate to develop an energy model based mainly on RES, as they believe they cannot cover the energy needs of the island. They also, believe that they play a secondary role in the planning and development of energy policy at a local level, as they estimate that energy policy is mainly a matter of the central government. Findings show that there is a demand for a more specialized and focused energy policy. They further show the need for specialized environmental education programs addressed to local authorities aiming at increasing motivation as well as supporting their efforts for the implementation of sustainable energy policies.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Local Authorities’ Views and Attitudes on Sustainable Energy Policy: The Case of Mayors of Rhodes, Island, Greece (2010-2014)
AU  - Anastasia Dimitriou
AU  - Dimitris Pimenidis
Y1  - 2015/03/04
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP  - 20
EP  - 30
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7536
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150302.11
AB  - To create effective climate change mitigation energy policies that contribute to greenhouse gases reduction are required. To this direction, local authorities play a crucial role as they are responsible for the planning and implementation of energy policies in their territories. This study aims to investigate the local authorities’ knowledge and attitudes on energy production, energy management, energy consumption and renewable energy sources (RES), as well as their energy practices and their intentions. The study was carried out in the island of Rhodes, Greece where 12 elective representatives of local authorities (municipalities and prefecture) were asked to fill in a questionnaire on the above issues. Almost all of the participants recognized energy saving as an important dimension of energy policy. They indicated their intentions for energy saving applications in the future, but the measures they use to apply in their area of responsibility are extremely limited. Despite respondents’ positive attitudes towards the use of RES, they seem to hesitate to develop an energy model based mainly on RES, as they believe they cannot cover the energy needs of the island. They also, believe that they play a secondary role in the planning and development of energy policy at a local level, as they estimate that energy policy is mainly a matter of the central government. Findings show that there is a demand for a more specialized and focused energy policy. They further show the need for specialized environmental education programs addressed to local authorities aiming at increasing motivation as well as supporting their efforts for the implementation of sustainable energy policies.
VL  - 3
IS  - 2
ER  -

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